Chipper/shredders and similar apparatus have taken on a variety of forms and one such form is shown in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/789,053, filed Nov. 7, 1991 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,199,653 entitled DISCHARGE ASSEMBLY FOR CHIPPER/SHREDDER which shows an upright chipper/shredder but is provided with wheels to facilitate its movement from one operating location to another. Co-pending application Ser. No. 07/757,662 having a filing date of Sep. 10, 1991 now abandoned and entitled CHIPPER/SHREDDER VACUUM CLEANER shows a modification on the chipper/shredder apparatus wherein it is fully portable in a walk-behind manner, and is capable of providing a variety of functions ranging from the vacuuming of debris through the shredding of debris and the chipping of limbs, etc. Finally, there is yet another variation shown in co-pending application Ser. No. 07/795,516, filed Nov. 21, 1991 now U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,827 and entitled LAWN AND GARDEN CHIPPER/SHREDDER VACUUM APPARATUS, which apparatus also performs a variety of functions including vacuuming, chipping and shredding. All three applications are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and all three applications have, in common, the provision of an inlet chute to permit the selective insertion of limbs, twigs, etc. so that they may be reduced to chips of wood in accordance of the functioning of the apparatus. As is well known, the purpose behind such chipping and shredding apparatus is to reduce debris to small pieces to facilitate handling and disposal.
The length of the limb or branch which can be handled by a inlet chute on a particular chipper/shredder may present a problem requiring that the limb or branch be broken into shorter lengths before insertion into the chute so as to facilitate its handling by the operator, minimize unwanted "tipping" and improve its chipping by the apparatus. Moreover, inlet chutes can interfere with movement storage and use of the apparatus if, for example, combination chipping, shredding and vacuuming apparatus is to be used next to high vertical walls, pass through narrow gates, etc. where inlet chute length presents a problem.